Father of Miami-Dade journalist beheaded by ISIS militants talks about seeing torturer in court

PINECREST, Fla. – Seven years after the day Art Sotloff’s son Steven Joel was beheaded by ISIS militants in Syria, he came face to face with Alexanda Amon Kotey, who admitted he had tortured her son.

“Seven years a day. What are the probabilities of this? I think God had something to do with it. I don’t know what to say, “said the father on Friday in grief.

Art Sotloff said he was just 10 meters from Kotey on Thursday while in a federal courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia. Friday said it was very surreal.

“I had to contain myself. I was with all the other families. He wasn’t the only one there, ”said Art Sotloff of Pinecrest.

Kotey, a British ISIS militant, pleaded guilty to the eight crimes against him and will serve his entire life in prison. Art Sotloff said he felt his son, a journalist who was born in Miami-Dade County, was looking down.

“I heard him there in the courtroom and I was able to smile at him because there was finally some justice,” he said.

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Kotey, 37, of London, described how to torture hostages, including punches, electric shocks and waterboarding.

“It simply came to our notice then. No fresh, passionate calm like talking about baseball, ”Art Sotloff said.

Kotey was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces when he tried to flee Syria through Turkey in January 2018 and was in U.S. custody on October 7, 2020.

Federal prosecutors said Kotey admitted his involvement in the hostage-taking scheme that killed four American hostages: Sotloff, his partner James Foley, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller, who were workers of help.

The Sotloff family founded the 2Lives Foundation provide scholarships to students seeking a career in journalism as a tribute to Steven Sotloff’s commitment.

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